The field of the invention relates to exercise apparatus, and more particularly, to exercise apparatus of a single piece construction.
Exercise apparatus of the past include devices having a hand held end about which the device rotates. U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,925 teaches a rope jumping device that comprises a relatively rigid U-shaped rod connected to a flexible line. U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,802 teaches a jumping hoop having a hand held member, which appears relatively rigid, connected to a relatively flexible second U-shaped member. U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,502 discloses a skipping exercise device wherein the hand held and distal ends are hingedly connected at a point along each longer side thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 104,674 discloses a skipping hoop of uniform rigidity which may be modified into a trundling hoop by removing the handle thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 67,101 discloses a jumping hoop of uniform rigidity having the hand piece thereof attached to a hoop. U.S. Pat. No. 2,493,224 teaches a circular skipping hoop of uniform rigidity comprising an endless circular member having a handle means connected thereto.
None of these past devices can be readily constructed from a single element formed into a generally quadrilateral configuration suitable for exercising, and in particular, a device of a uniform rigidity formed into a shape for performing a rope skipping exercise. Consequently, the construction of these past devices is relatively expensive from the standpoints of both material and labor. Further, such devices are therefore, because of the greater number of constituent parts, more complex than necessary.
Thus, it would be highly desirable to provide an improved exercise apparatus. It would also be highly desirable to provide an improved exercise apparatus that may be manufactured at a relatively low cost from the standpoints of both labor and materials.
It would also be highly desirable to provide an improved exercise apparatus that is not vulnerable to breakage due to having a number of constituent parts.
It would also be highly desirable to provide an improved exercise apparatus that does not pose a danger of injury to the user due to having a number of constituent parts.
Further, none of the past devices are collapsible for convenient storage and handling upon the simple manual disassembly of one portion thereof.
Thus, it would be highly desirable to provide an improved exercise apparatus which is collapsible for convenient storage and handling upon the simple manual disassembly of a single portion thereof.